There is an old adage that says, "It's easier to get the job done if you have the right tools."

In my case, it means having reliable vehicles to cover the thousands of miles our field staff must travel to provide assistance to those in need, as well as computers and phones to help us stayed connected to each other and to you, our IOCC supporters. For a school child, those tools may be much simpler but just as necessary to be productive – books, school uniforms, a meal, and safe drinking water.

Civil war in Syria is making learning extremely difficult, even impossible, for many of its children. Schools have been converted to emergency shelters, books and belongings have been destroyed by battles raging in once peaceful neighborhoods, and more than one million Syrian children now live in foreign countries as impoverished refugees. Cameroon's schoolchildren face a different threat – the lack of safe, clean drinking water threatens their health and their ability to attend school. In Greece, children from families living on the brink of poverty are faced with attending class hungry or underfed.

IOCC is working to ensure that these children have access to the basic tools they need to thrive in a healthy and safe learning environment. Whether it's improving the well-being of children and their families in Syria, Cameroon, or Greece, the most powerful tool for transforming lives is compassion. These stories demonstrate how, through your compassion, IOCC is transforming lives every day, and providing those in need with the tools to succeed.